49ers news: Jerry Rice mocks Eagles fans, Tom Brady a target (again)

The 49ers may have lost the NFC Championship game against the Eagles, but Jerry Rice had a good laugh. Plus, Tom Brady is back as an offseason talking point.

The San Francisco 49ers could have hoped for almost anything other than what happened in the NFC Championship game, a 31-7 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles where nearly everything that could go wrong ultimately did.

Including quarterback Brock Purdy suffering a serious elbow injury on the Niners’ first possession.

Then there were the flags, mountains of them (OK, only 11 against San Francisco) that ultimately led to Philly gaining all the momentum and taking the game over completely after halftime.

An embarrassment? Perhaps. But the 49ers still have five Super Bowl titles to their credit, and they also boast the greatest player in NFL history, Hall of Famer Jerry Rice, who didn’t hesitate to mock some Eagles fans who were booing him ahead of the game:

For what it’s worth, Rice won four Super Bowl rings with the Niners over his illustrious and unequaled career.

Yet Philly ultimately got the last laugh, and the Eagles will end up representing the NFC in Super Bowl LVII instead of San Francisco against the Kansas City Chiefs.

But, was there more smoke to the game than just rings?

One 49ers player hints at officials wanting Eagles to win

Few, if any active players would ever go on record saying something to the tune of, “the officials had it in for us” or, “the game was rigged.”

According to one unnamed 49ers player, though, things changed right after Purdy’s injury.

The San Francisco Chronicle’s Mike Silver reported the conversation with said player, and it’s pretty noteworthy:

"It felt like once Purdy got hurt, someone at the league called down and said, “Make sure the Eagles get to the Super Bowl, and not them,” one Niners player told me. I’m withholding his name because he would prefer to keep his money, rather than paying a fine to the NFL."

Brutal, if true. But it probably isn’t.

It might seem that way, though.

Tom Brady a 49ers free-agent target? Ian Rapoport says it’ll be costly

San Francisco has had multiple chances to lure in the best quarterback of all time, Tom Brady, who’ll be a 46-year-old free agent in 2023 and could theoretically look to end his career with his boyhood team.

According to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, though, Brady isn’t going to do a “hometown” discount just to suit up with the red and gold.

Speaking with KNBR 680 on Monday (h/t 49ers Webzone), Rapoport said the following:

"If Tom Brady tells the 49ers, “I would only want to be with you guys,” they would probably have to consider it. I don’t know that that would be their number one option. They have someone who they really like as a potential starter who is extremely cheap. Tom Brady typically has played for $30 million the last couple of years. My guess is that is about what it would [cost the 49ers]. He’s not going to come back for a $1 million minimum salary. He’s just not. He’s never been willing to do that, and he’s just not."

That extremely cheap potential starter of whom Rapoport is speaking is Purdy, of course, who’ll enter year two of his rookie deal.

The Niners have an estimated $16.4 million in cap space, currently, according to Over the Cap.